Sheepish

As well as the horses and cattle, there were quite a few sheep at Keighley Show, although not the wide variety of breeds that you see at the bigger shows like Kilnsey. Few of them were labelled either so, for a townie like me, working out what the breeds are is difficult.

I was very impressed with the poise and confidence of the young ladies handling these. Some of the lambs are rather skittish, so they had to keep their cool. Do you think that's dad in the background? He looks quite proud of them. There are 'young handler' categories at the show, recognising the developing skills of these youngsters as they help on their family farms. When I was a girl, one of my school friends lived on a farm so I know how much the whole family (and their friends!) have to get involved, to keep the enterprise running. 

Portraits of sheep are not as intimidating for me as portraits of people! The configuration of the pens meant it was hard to get as close and as low as I'd ideally have liked. 

I much prefer the ones that are left natural; some of them are dyed yellow, for some reason.

The two at the front below are Ouessants - a tiny breed originating from an island off Brittany.  Just 18" or 19" at the shoulder, they are reputed to be the smallest naturally occurring sheep breed in the world. According to the display boards by their pen, they make ideal pets for a smallholding. 

These all seemed to want to be in the same corner of their pen... A sheep knot!

It's a dog's life

Every other person at the Keighley Show seemed to have a dog with them. It was lovely to see how engaged they all were, sniffing around and generally being very curious about everything. I enjoyed watching them checking each other out too. There were many brief encounters, mostly very positive. In fact they all seemed extremely well-behaved and chilled. I don't even think I heard one barking - and I usually notice, as it is a sound that reverberates through my hearing aids! 

Moo-ving

I always enjoy the chance to get close to the cattle at the agricultural shows, especially the shaggy highland breeds. This beauty (above) was judged the best of them all.  It had quite a haughty air! I wonder what they see, through all that hair? 

Some of them had calves, very sweet. I loved the way the little one was peeping round its handler. 

I'm not sure if these big fluffy bulls (above and below) were highland cattle or some other breed. They weren't quite as hairy and didn't have the same horns so I guess they are something else but I'm no expert! 

Talk about giving me the side eye! 

I briefly toyed with the idea of trying to throw some loo rolls into a bucket to win a highland cow stuffie... but thought better of it! My hand-eye co-ordination is less than zero so it was hardly worth the punt. (And I wasn't in the moo -d... OK, I'll see myself out!) I did see one lady who managed to land one roll - but you had to get two for a big toy so she only won a small one. The child she was with seemed happy enough with that. 

Horsing around

The first Saturday in September is traditionally the date for Keighley Agricultural Show. Compared with some, it's a relatively small affair but I really enjoy it and it's not far to go (and easy, on the bus).

Much of the day is taken up with equestrian classes - both show jumping, and the judging of different classes of horses. The horses are always turned out smartly and the judges do a thorough job of checking them over: musculature, coat, teeth, gait...

They start young! A tiny tot on a tiny Shetland pony:

There is a category for heavy horses too: Shires, Clydesdales, Percheron and Suffolk Punch. I'm not entirely sure which is which, though I think those in my photos are Shires and Clydesdales. These horses were originally bred as draught horses for heavy farm work, ploughing, logging, and pulling carts, wagons and, of course, barges along the canals. A few do still work but most are now bred for showing. 

I love these horses. My enthusiasm is either in my genes (my great grandfather was a horseman) and/or a memory from my childhood. My dad used to take me to watch my uncle competing, with a horse and a plough, in the ploughing matches that used to be held. 

Heavy horses are still used in certain areas. Kings College in Cambridge has had a wildflower meadow for several years now, which is traditionally harvested using two Shire horses called Cosmo and Bryn. That is so much better for the environment than using tractors. See HERE. 

Walk #1 West Wemyss to Buckhaven

Fife holiday 2026 #3

Our coastal walk continued. You could generally see the next village on the trail in the distance but often it took a long time to actually arrive there - distances can be deceptive! This compact little village is West Wemyss (pronounced Weemz), which means 'cave' - and there were caves in the steep sandstone cliffs. Some were reputed to have Pictish cave paintings but they were so dark inside that you couldn't really see anything. The soft stone of the cliffs was nicely weathered and I could have made lots of photos here.

This area was obviously a gathering place for the local community and had some interesting mosaics. The coat of arms of Clan Weymss features swans, so the mosaic is a nod to that. The Chief of the Clan still lives in Wemyss Castle, I believe, which is somewhere on top of the cliffs. 

It looked an attractive village though we didn't explore beyond the coastal footpath. 

One of my friends is much more expert at identifying flowers than I am and she was keeping a log. We were both excited by the lupins growing wild everywhere, something you don't see in our own local area. Out to sea, we spotted islands off the North Berwick coast. I believe the one on the left is the famous Bass Rock seabird colony (whose guano makes it look quite white). The larger, darker lump on the right is, I think, on the mainland and is the volcanic plug called North Berwick Law. 

It was in this area that we spotted lots of seals basking on the rocks - at least fifteen in my photo! We were not expert enough to know whether they are Grey seals or Harbour seals but we enjoyed watching them. (Not that they were doing a lot!) 

More lupins, and lots of buttercups, as we approached East Wemyss.  Then the track climbed a bit as we passed the red sandstone ruin of Macduff Castle, associated with the Macduff Earls of Fife, the most powerful family in Fife in the Middle Ages.

For a while the path moved away from the immediate coastal strip, through lush green farmland and lanes filled with wild flowers. The Fife peninsula is a rich agricultural area. Our breakfast packet of Scotts Porridge Oats proudly proclaimed them to be grown entirely in Fife. Now I can't be exactly sure what growing oats look like, but I think the field below might be them. 

By this point we'd walked more than eight miles. The last two miles from Buckhaven to Leven, where we'd left the cars, were largely pavement walking, so a few of us stopped at Buckhaven and caught a bus back to Leven, and had a welcome cup of coffee! It had been a very good day - no rain, no blisters and I didn't ache too much. In fact most of us even managed an evening walk around Crail later, after dinner. 

Dogs of Airedale

Keighley Show #5

There were hundreds of dogs at Keighley Show, some entering the canine classes and many more just accompanying their owners around the showground. Here are a few of those I managed to capture with my camera. It was clearly a wonderful and exciting doggie experience, with lots of scent trails to follow and lots of other dogs to greet and sniff. They were all remarkably well-behaved. 

 

Heavy horses

Keighley Show #4

My favourite part of any agricultural show is seeing the heavy horses, so I was delighted to find quite a few on show in Keighley. Once an essential part of a farm and used for pulling ploughs and carts, nowadays they're mostly kept as pets and for show, though a few are still used as working horses. (It's not that long ago that the city of Bradford stopped keeping them. They used to use them to pull water carts to water the plant displays around the city centre, and some breweries used them as dray horses until fairly recently.) There are two native breeds - Shire horses and Scottish Clydesdales - and I'm not sure how you tell them apart. 

Perhaps my love for them is in my blood, as one of my great grandfathers was a horseman on a farm. 

The judges are very thorough, checking every aspect of their appearance and build, from the lush 'feathers' over their feet to their gait when trotting. 

 

Sorting out the sheep from the cattle

Keighley Show #2

There were livestock classes, not nearly as many as at the bigger shows but still interesting. It's the only time I dare get close to farm animals. I certainly don't relish meeting them when I'm out walking, especially if there's no fence separating us! 

The shows are a chance for farmers to get together and chat, so you can often snap nice candid shots. 

I liked the very fluffy sheep. I think they're Valais Blacknose, usually kept as pets in the UK. 

I wasn't so sure about the bright yellow ones! I don't think they are naturally this colour but for some reason the farmers dye them. Quite striking, I suppose. 

Onto the cattle. There weren't that many and I kept well away from the big black bull, magnificent though he was. One of my great uncles used to own a dairy farm. I remember vividly visiting there as a child and being introduced to their huge bull, which had a massive ring through its nose. To a small child, it seemed terrifying. I was glad to escape to the farmhouse kitchen, with its comforting warmth from the Aga. I really loved my great aunt, an archetypal, large bosomed, soft featured farmer's wife, invariably in an apron and always baking. She had such a kind face and was usually smiling. 

I enjoy watching the highland cattle. I often wonder how they can see through all that hair. 

Equestrian events at Keighley Show

Keighley Show #1

It was a fine, dry day so I decided on a whim to go to Keighley Show, the annual agricultural show. As these things go, it's a relatively small affair but in many ways that makes it nicer, as you can get closer to the action and see more of it. 

When I arrived, there were show jumping classes in the main ring.  

Shetland ponies were being judged. I rather liked this one with the blonde mane. These little ponies all have the cutest fat tummies! 

In another ring, carriage driving classes were underway. 

The lady in the black hat and gloves (on the left below) is the judge. I rather like the tradition that the officials dress up for the occasion - and there's always a lot of countrywear about: checked shirts, moleskin trousers, fleece gilets. Me... I just wore my jeans and a top, not very 'country' or dressed up!